Palm oil mill power plant concept advice OPUL Bidco project, Uganda, 2 to 6 May 2006

1 - The following parameters were taken into account to study the production potential of the OPUL project plantations: - climatic conditions, - nature of the soils, - planting material, - management quality. Comparisons with other plantations also set up under marginal conditions, and wide experience of oil palm plantations in Africa, particularly in an outgrower context, led the authors to define production schemes that were well below those adopted in the Africon report. The following yield hypotheses were therefore adopted: - probable: 15 tFFB/ha for the nucleus estate and 75% of that maximum for outgrowers, with production beginning in year 4, - optimistic: 18 tFFB/ha for the nucleus estate and the same reduction for the outgrowers. 2 - Based on the FFB yield hypotheses, different simulations of boilerhouse and power plant operation were analysed, leading to the conclusion that using all the manufacturing waste from the oil mill would make it possible to cover all the oil mill's steam and electricity requirements, during its operating and shut-down periods, and to provide the island's grid at all times with a variable amount of electricity depending on yield trends. It can be seen that: - before 2011, FFB yields will be insufficient to ensure continuous operation of the power plant outside the mill running hours, - from 2011 onwards, yields will make it possible to cover all the requirements of the project, and also to sell via the grid between 696 MWh in 2011 and a maximum of 8,820 MWh in 2017, with average powers available on the grid of between 80 kW in 2011 and 1,007 kW in 2017. 3.- We recommend: - gradual installation of three 15 TPH steam boilers to meet all steam production requirements, whilst guaranteeing continuous operation of the installations, with one of the 3 boilers practically on stand-by at all times, - installation of a 3MW multi-stage steam turbine working in condensation mode with extraction at 5 barg to ensure indirect production of low pressure steam at 3 barg for oil mill requirements, - fixing steam conditions at 40-45 barg with superheating to 395°C. Given the difficulty of access to the project, we strongly recommend entrusting implementation of the entire project to a single company with which a "turnkey" type contract will be negotiated. (Resume d'auteur)